Sehausle

Super cute website, you can tell it's your future-hubby's profession! I especially love the bandit-themed photo-shoot!

I would disagree - if you wear a crazy funky gown you may want to do your hair more neutrally - too much of something ends up looking like you took the wrong pills in the morning if you know what I mean hahah

oops I mean ceremony* in chapel

We are having our reception privately in their open-aired spanish-style chapel then we'll have our reception in their wine cellar but Dreams Tulum offers private functions I believe...not sure about beach because we live near the ocean so I wanted to do something a little bit different.

I'd be wary of getting a dress online. There were big differences in the quality when I looked even at places like David's Bridal vs regular Bridal shops. What I did was find a dress I loved..then looked on re-sell websites to see if others were able to sell the same size/design and what price they were getting. I found I had a popular size/design so I am going to sell my dress after and will end up spending only $100-300 ultimately on my originally priced $1300 dress. You just have to keep it in good shape, and obviously you can't make too many alterations (I am just adding cups and a bustle) . A good resell site preownedweddingdresses.com or tradesy.com . While it won't work for all brides, it may work for some. Also, you could find the dress and size you need then scope out the above sites to nab a deal!

I have found a few budget saving tricks as well, thought i'd share: 1) Forget the linens. White is elegant and classic...and included! You think that bright orange looks great now, but it doesn't stand the test of time and will most likely look dated when you look back at photos. Save your $$$ and let your sorroundings speak for itself. 2) Vista-Print! Seriously I was able to do 100 invites/envelopes/address stickers, and 25 seals I custom designed to say thank you Brad & Shauna Mexico 2013 for about $60 including shipping - just use retailmenot.com for a coupon code ( I am re-purposing envelope seal stickers to go on cake boxes I bought for $5 off Amazon that could easily double as a favor but I am just using them so guests can bring a piece of cake with them back to their hotel room since my package includes dessert also) 3) skip OOT bags if you're at an all-inclusive in lieu of a cheaper weekend wedding survival kit. I did 24 of them for $80 ...shop around for deals! Who needs bottles of water or snacks when you're at a resort and can eat and drink for free! I think it's nice to offer a thank-you or welcome gift but this is a fairly new concept so if it's not in your budget don't stress. Speaking of favors...shop around! Again, I used retailmenot.com and was able to afford the more expensive favor because of it (we did starfish wine stoppers since were having our reception in a wine cellar) . Many places offered discounts but eventually one was cheap enough so that I was able to do 24 favors and tags for $80- that's $160 for all my favors combined, not too shabby. 4) Ask for an off-the-rack price...and call price/compare when it comes to your dress: It worked for me..called several stores that carried the Allure line and saved over $200 off of my dress, the worst they can say is no. 5) Don't get too caught up in personalizing...chap stick, water bottles etc. it may be cute but it's really only THAT exciting to you so don't waste money on the little things that aren't all that important. If it's cheap or free to personalize it-go for it but otherwise no one (I promise) really cares that it has your name on it. Also, doing tags may be cheaper than engraving or stickers. We found a bunch of cute favor tags on ebay for $7! 6) Re-use decor...splurging for fresh flowers for your pews or chairs ? Have someone transfer it to your tables to double as centerpieces. You get the luxury of having fresh flowers at your ceremony and reception for only half the cost. May not be for everyone...but we also decided not to have a wedding party. We only have 24 in our group so were going to keep it to our parents. It cut down on cost and didn't make me pick favorites between an already small group of my best-friends/family. If you're worried about not having a shower or bachlorette party ...don't! I had SEVERAL people ask to do this, many of whom couldn't be at my wedding but wanted to do something special for us.

What a monster that is scary... thanks for the warning! Hope you have better luck with everything else.

Ladies, I need your help. The bottom piece is a family heirloom that has been past down from generation to generation so I definitely want to wear it. My dress has a lot going on so I changed it over to a bracelet (put it on a shorter chain). I just bought these inexpensive earrings on a whim, do you think they go? I am still unsure ...I have included the dress and jewelery so you can get an idea of whether you think I should keep looking or stick with what I have (suggestions or recommendations appreciated- thanks!)

So excited I just finished my "Survival Kits" this past weekend... I was able to do the entire project for under $4 per bag and they came out really nice since I am not much of a DIY person: Inside: Immodium, Pepto, alka seltzer, gum, chapstick, snapple energy to-gos, earplugs, Advil, Sunscreen, Disposable Razor, Mini Lint Roller, hand sanitizer, band-aids, alcohol prep pads, tissues, and I think that's about it. My dad works at a printing company so I asked him to donate some leftover cardstock and I just used that in my regular at-home printer, cut it out and stapled it to the bag (just a quart size ziplock). I couldn't get a template on this website so I just made my own- it took a few tries to get the size right but I work in powerpoint all of the time so it wasn't too difficult. I am going to do these kits in lieu of an out of town bag and just hand them out myself at an informal cocktail hour I am holding myself (for free) at the Sugar Reef Bar the night before. I will then have wine stopper favors (with personalized tags- I've included all three images) at the reception for our actual favors..I also bought boxes and personalized them on vista print so that people could take their cake to-go if they wanted to since our package includes dessert too. All in all I spent $130 on 24 favors between bags and wine stoppers- pretty budget friendly I think!

I see you posted it - think the dress looks quite beautiful -you could have it bustled or take it up and pair with heels....just be careful but overall the dress is gorgeous and you're going to be so happy when you look back at photos !

How did the hair/makeup go?

Were staying a week for our wedding but waiting 6mos and doing two weeks in Europe! I would love 6wks but my employer wouldn't be very happy with me lol

I would say definitely wear earrings but if you do a necklace do something classic (i.e pearls) or very dainty (a thin locket style necklace) but keep it dainty since your dress is the main show...you could even do small studs but I think no earrings just looks like you forgot to put them on! lol

I'm usually a simple is better person but I vote belt too - it really gives you a nicer shape and it's very elegant.

Allure style. 8800 in ivory cafe

Thank you so much!

oops meant to put this here ..still needs alterations but here is me in my dress which finally came in yesterday : )

I am an asthmatic so the idea of a cigar roller sounds downright awful...plus they smell terrible to me. Remember just because you might like them to be considerate to your guests. I would be put off....but then again if you're outside it might not be so bad. Were doing weekend survival kits ( advil, lint rollers, gum, sunscreen etc) in lieu of OOT bag since waterbottles and snacks already are free for an all inclusive. Were handing those out at a night before cocktail hour then day of we bought these cute wine toppers and I bought these tags in ivory on ebay that I will tie to each one and provide those to our guests at the reception. We decided to have our reception in the wine cellar so it ties in to beach and wine theme well.